Nonfouling folding boat anchor



Dw- 1969 A. H. SCHUMAN 3,485,199

NQNFOULING FOLDING BOAT ANCHOR Filed June 7, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Arfhur H. Schumon INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Dec. 23, 1969 H. SCHUMAN NONFOULING FOLDING BOAT ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 7, 1968 Fig. 7.

Arthur H. Schumcm,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,485,199 NONFOULTNG FOLDING BOAT ANCHOR Arthur H. Schuman, 1615 Mojove Road, 38, Las Vegas, Nev. S9104 Filed June 7, 1968, Ser. No. 735,303 Int. Cl. B63b 21/36 US. Cl. 114-208 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention includes a coupling device attached to one end of an elongated anchor shank member for con nection to an anchor cable and also a plurality of arm members having pivots adjacent one of their ends for pivotal attachment adjacent the other end of the shank member to allow individual ones of the arms to rotate from a position alongside the shank member outwardly at least 180 when not restrained in a position making an acute angle with the shank member by associated replaceable shear mechanisms associated with each arm so that individual mechanisms will give way under a predetermined load between the shank member and an arm member.

Over the many years of use with ships and boats, anchors have not seen the drastic design changes that have generally taken place in the ships and boats to which they are attached. The first commercially made anchors for ships utilized stock arms extending orthogonally to the stock and when the anchor struck the bottom and fell over and rested on an end of the stock, the drag on the cable caused the anchor to cant and pull the stock down horizontally upon the bottom and thereby to cause the arms to bite into the bottom and hold the ship.

Later, stockless anchors having arms that are pivoted upon the shank to swing from 30 to 45 degrees on either side and having the palms of the arms in the plane of the arms instead of at right angles to it as in the earlier anchors were developed. The newer anchors known as navy type anchors are still in wide use today and have the advantage of ease of handling and stowing because in the absence of a stock, they can be hoisted directly into the hawse-pipe of a ship and stowed there ready for letting go quickly.

For the boat category, where not as heavy a load will be placed on the anchor system, weights such as concrete blocks with a shackle attached have been in widespread use. These are only satisfactory in areas where there is little likelihood of fouling in rocks or bottom growth such as kelp. They also have little holding power and are prone to drag along the bottom with tension forces on the anchor cable. The only resistance this type of anchor can give is just its weight. Therefore, if this type anchor is to be effective at all in other than in calm waters, it must have great weight which is a great disadvantage when carried on a small boat because there is generally no Windlass aboard to pull it up.

Also in this category, lightweight stockless or navy type anchors have become more and more popular but they too have disadvantages. For example, stockless anchors in general do not have as much holding power as an old-fashion stock anchor of the same weight or of the same fluke area since they have more of a tendency to disengage their fiukes by gradually turning over and rolling out. These anchors also have a tendency to clog or ball with mud in a muddy bottom. If this occurs and the anchor breaks out, the arms may swing about and jam in a position where it will be impossible for the fiukes to bite again and the only resistance to dragging will be its weight. Another disadvantage of this type of anchor is its size and inability to be folded for carrying and storage.

3,485,.l99 Patented Dec. 23, 1969 More recently, lightweight boat anchors have been developed which have a plurality of linked arms that may be folded for ease of stowing. These, however, have the disadvantage of being prone to fouling in rocks and bottom growth or debris with the loss of the anchor and cable as a result.

In order to overcome the particular disadvantage of fouling, there are now on the market anchors that resemble navy type anchors which are provided with a means to allow more than the normal 30 to 45 degree swing of th arms with respect to the shank. These anchors though have the disadvantage noted for conventional navy type anchors and further have the disadvantageous requirement that the anchor cable be pulled at a particular angular relationship with respect to the shank in order to affeet the release. As is Well known in boating, it is not often the case that one on board a boat will know in which direction the boat is with relation to the longitudinal direction of the shank of the anchor once the anchor is dropped and lying on the bottom. The boat may swing due to currents and wind and the cable may also spiral downward due to currents and the like. Thus, it can be seen that the unfouling procedure necessary to free this type of anchor may require maneuvering the boat in a wide circle until the cable happens to be at the correct relationship to allow the release mechanism to be operated.

From the foregoing, it should be clear that a good holding and folding anchor for small and medium-sized boats that includes a means for unfouling the anchor at any time and from any position relative to the anchor shank would constitute a substantial advancement of the art. Such an advantageous device is provided by the present invention which includes a plurality of arm members having pivots adjacent of their ends pivotally attached adjacent an end of an anchor shank to allow individual ones of the arms to rotate from a position alongside the shank (folded position) by at least degrees when not restrained from doing so. The arms may be held in a position making a selected acute angle with the shank by novelly disposing replaceable shear mechanisms associated with each arm so that they will give way under a predetermined load pressure on the arms away from the shank.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved anchor for small and medium-sized boats.

It is another object of the invention to provide a compact, lightweight folding boat anchor capable of being easily carried and stowed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new type nonfouling anchor that can be easily and completely released from any position of the boat with respect to the anchor.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a folding and nonfouling boat anchor that may be adjusted to defeat the nonfouling feature in the event that it becomes necessary in the'case of an emergency to assure that the anchor will hold under heavy and above normal stress.

The invention and specific embodiment thereof will be described hereinafter by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements or parts, and in which: 7

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an embodiment of the invention showing the arms held against the anchor shank for storing;

FIG. 2 is another illustration of the anchor of FIG. 1 where the arms have been rotated 180 degres to a nonfouling position;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the anchor shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 perspectively illustrates the anchor of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 in its operative position where the arms are at an acute angle with respect to the anchor shank and restrained from further rotation by associated shear pins;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention that is simpler and cheaper to construct than the embodiment shown in the previous figures;

FIG. '6 illustrates by a perspective view of still another embodiment of the invention in its operative configuration; and

FIG. 7 is still another perspective illustration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 but having its arms folded against the anchor shank and held by a spring.

With reference now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is shown an elongated anchor shank member 11 having at a first end 13 a ring or shackle 15 for connection to an anchor cable (not shown) and a plurality of fluked arm members 17 having pivots 19 adjacent their nonbiting ends 21 pivotally connected adjacent a second end 23 of the shank member 11. A partial view of a spring 25 can be seen encircling the arm members 17 against the shank member 11 for stowing and ease of transporting.

In FIG. 2, the arms 17 are shown rotated about the pivots 19 approximately 180 degrees from their stowing position to provide a clear, nonfouling configuration.

FIG. 4 illustrates the normal operative position of the arms 17 with respect to the shank member 11. The arms 17 are restrained in a position making a desired acute angle such as 45 to 75 degrees with respect to the shank member 11 by shear pins 27 inserted in holes 29 in the shank member 11. The position of the holes 29 in the shank member 11 determines the particular acute angle that will be obtained, and more than the single hole 29 for each arm member 17 may be furnished if different angles are desired for different bottom conditions.

The shank member 11 is shown fabricated from any suitable metal, either ferrous or nonferrous, having a generally rectangular cross section for an anchor having four arms or having a generally triangular cross section (not shown) for a three arm configuration. The ring or shackle 15 may be fixed by welding or made rotatable in the end 13 of the shank 11 by conventional means such as a captured pin extending from the shackle 15 into a hole 31 in the first end 13 of the shank 11 as seen in FIG. 3. The arm members 17 may also be fabricated from the same type metal as used for the shank 11 such as, in this fluked arm configuration, common angle iron cut to provide biting pointed ends 33 at the opposite ends of the arms 17 from the pivots 19. Of course, if a ferrous metal is used in any part of the invention, it should be protected from the corrosive environment by conventional means such as hot-dip galvanization.

The essential characteristic elements of all the various embodiments of the present invention are the shear mechanisms or pins 27 removably disposed in the holes 29 and protruding outwardly a suflicient distance to engage and restrain the rotation of the arms 17 about their pivots 19. These shear pins 27 are fabricated from a material that is generally softer than the metal used in the fabrication of the shank 11 and the arms 17 and have a diameter calculated by conventional means to shear olf and allow the arms 17 to rotate to their nonfouling configuration (as seen in FIG. 2) when a greater than desired force is caused to be present between the shank 11 and any of the arms 17. This can be accomplished, for example, by a person on board a boat jerking the anchor cable (not shown) attached to the shackle 15 abruptly upward to provide a greater shear force of the arm 17 against the shear pins 27 than the pins 27 are designed to withstand. It should be understood that a steady heavy pull on the same shear pins would not cause the pins to shear and thus the anchor will hold 4 firm until it is desired that the hold be broken off namely by jerking upward on the anchor cable.

A somewhat less expensive to fabricate anchor, according to this invention, is shown in FIG. 5 which generally looks similar to the first described embodiment but has no palm-like areas on the arms. Here, a shank 51 having a first end 53 at which is disposed a shackle 55 is provided with straight arms 57 having pivots 59 disposed adjacent an end 61 thereof pivotally connected adjacent a second end 63 of the shank 51. Like the first described embodiment, a spring similar to spring 25 of FIG. 1 may be used to hold the arms 57 against the shank 51 but is not shown here. It should also be pointed out in all embodiments of the invention that the spring 25 may be disposed about the shank of the anchor adjacent the arms held in operative positions by their asso ciated shear mechanisms on the side of these arms opposite the shear pins. This will aid in preventing the arms from folding against the shank when it is desired that the arms be extended outwardly for biting into the bottom.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 also has removable and replaceable shear pins 67 disposed into holes 69 in the shank 51 for the purposes previously described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 4. The arms 57 may also have pointed ends 73 and may further include removable holding pins 75 disposed in holes 77 that extend therethrough into holes not shown in the shank 51 instead of utilizing a spring similar to spring 25 of FIG. 1 to hold the arms 57 in their operative configuration as seen in FIG. 5. However, when the pins 75 are used, the arms 57 will be locked in this configuration for emergency conditions. Where it is desired to retain the nonfouling feature of the anchor while not wishing to use a spring to hold the arms extended against the shear pins, a pin not shown may be placed in and extended outwardly from a hole 79 in the shank 51 on the side of the arm 57 opposite that from the shear pin 67.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a more elaborate construction of the invention that may be fabricated from only two difierent molds if using a casting process, for example. Here, there is shown a quadruple ridged shank member 111 having a first end 113 whereat a ring 115 is captured in an aperture 117. Adjacent the other end or crown end 119 of the shank 111, four arm members 121 having pivot pins 123 extending through their lower forked portion 125 and through corresponding holes (not shown) in rib portions 127 of the shank 111 are pivotally attached so that the arms 121 may be rotated from a position lying along the rib portions 127 as seen in FIG. 7 (stowing configuration) outwardly at least 180 degrees to a nonfouling position (not shown).

In the stowing position, a spring 131 (partially shown) may be positioned around the arms 121 in notches 133 provided as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. On the other hand, as seen in FIG. 6, this same spring 131 (shown as a dashed line) may be placed in notched lower sections 135 in the rib portions 127 to hold the arms outward from the shank 111 in operative position.

The arm members 121 may 'be provided with fluked, palm-like portions 136 extening from mid-position along the arms 121 to ends 137 of these members for improved holding power. At the extremities of the fluked portions 125 of the arms 121, lobe portions 141 are provided so as to engage shear pins 143 extending through holes 145 in the lower extremities of the rib portions 127 somewhat above the pivots 123 to restrain the rotation of the arms From the foregoing, it will be obvious that the invention provides an improved, highly effective folding and nonfouling anchor for light and medium-sized boats.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, other organizations of the embodiments shown may be made within the spirit and sc pe of the invention.

Accordingly, it is intended that the foregoing disclosure and drawings referred to shall be considered only as illustrations of the principles of this invention and are not to be construed in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A nonfouling folding anchor for anchoring a boat by means of an anchor cable connected therebetween, comprising:

an elongated shank member having a first and an op positely disposed second end and having a generally rectangular cross section;

means connected to said first end of said shank member for coupling to said anchor cable;

four arm members pivotally attached by pivotal elements adjacent an end thereof to different positions on said shank member adjacent said second end, said arm members being capable when not restrained of rotating about said pivoted elements by at least 180, said arm members being fabricated from angle stock having two orthogonally disposed faces and attached to said shank member in a manner that said faces lie against different sides of said shank member when said arms are rotated adjacent said shank member; and

restraining means including shear mechanisms removably attached to said shank member for each of said arm members for restraining rotation of individual ones of said arm members about said pivotal elements and holding said individual ones of said arms outward of said shank member at a predetermined acute angle only until a predetermined shear load is placed on a shear mechanism associated therewith.

2. A nonfouling folding anchor for anchoring a boat by means of an anchor cable connected therebetween, comprising:

an elongated shank member having a first and an oppositely disposed second end and having a generally rectangular cross section;

means connected to said first end of said shank member for coupling to said anchor cable;

four arm members pivotally attached by pivotal elements adjacent an end thereof to different positions on said shank member adjacent said second end, said arm members being capable when not restrained of rotating about said pivoted elements by at least 180, said arm members being fabricated from fiat stock having a pointed end at the opposite end from the position of said pivoted elements; and

restraining means including shear mechanisms removably attached to said shank member for each of said arm members for restraining rotation of individual ones of said arm members about said pivotal elements and holding said individual ones of said arms outward of said shank member at a predetermined acute angle only until a predetermined shear load is placed on a shear mechanism associated therewith.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 877,761 1/1908 Cummings 114208 2,056,439 10/1936 Welles 114-208 2,402,202 6/1946 Norton 114208 TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner 

